Saudi-based Arabian Cement Company, one of the largest cement producers in the GCC, said its gross profit fell to SR349.5 million ($93 million) in 2017 from SR551.6 million ($147 million) the previous year.

The plunge in these figures by SR202.1 million was mainly due to a sharp decrease in sales volume and also the high prices besides the drop in net income and evaluation of non-effective portion of financial derivatives for hedging purpose by SR17.4 million, said the company in a statement to Saudi bourse Tadawul.

The 2016 results included insurance claim of SR17 million for business interruption related to a fire accident at one of its mills occurred in 2012, it stated.

Arabian Cement Company said the 2017 revenue too took a hit plunging 28 per cent to SR905.7 million from the previous year's SR1.25 billion.

The company's total shareholders' equity (excluding minority interest) for the current year amounted to SR2.94 billion, compared to SR3.25 billion for previous year, thus registering a 9.3 per cent decline, it added.-TradeArabia News Service